Judge gave man ‘last chance’ to get clean. Now he’s charged in O’Fallon bank robbery
George E. Habermehl Jr., who was facing revocation of his parole for bank robberies in Granite City and St. Louis County, pleaded with a federal judge in a December letter to “give me one last chance.”
The 64-year-old got his wish and was released to a Maryville rehab center in January, according to federal court records.
But now Habermehl is once again in jail on a bank robbery charge.
He was charged with bank robbery Tuesday in connection with a robbery on March 20 at the FCB Bank at 1501 W. Highway 50 in O’Fallon. He was arrested shortly after the robbery and has since waived his right to a detention hearing. The federal public defender assigned to represent Habermehl could not be reached for comment Friday.
Charging documents allege Habermehl was wearing sunglasses and a ball cap when he handed a note to a FCB Bank teller stating he wanted $4,000 in $100 and $50 bills.
“No one gets hurt if you do exactly what I say!” the note stated. “Put cash in a regular paper bank envelope. Smile and say thank you sir.”
The bank later determined that the teller handed over about $3,300.
Habermehl was arrested after surveillance photos released by the O’Fallon Police Department prompted several people to call in with tips, according to the criminal complaint.
One call was from Habermehl’s federal probation officer. Another was from a family member.
Surveillance photos taken before the bank robbery show Habermehl walked out of an apartment on Bowman Street in East St. Louis and got on a MetroLink train. He rode the train from the Emerson Park station to the Fairview Heights station, where he hopped on a MetroBus and rode it to a bus stop near the FCB Bank.
He was later found at the Bowman Street apartment.
“During his arrest, Habermehl spontaneously informed Officers that all the money was gone, as he had given it to an unknown female who claimed that she would double it, and had also used a portion of the proceeds to purchase narcotics,” the complaint states.
In his letter in December to U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn, Habermehl said he was addicted to cocaine.
“It’s taken way too long but I’m ready to be an asset to the community instead of sucking the life out of it,” he wrote.
The federal government was seeking to revoke Habermehl’s probation because he had missed appointments for substance abuse treatment and failed to make restitution payments last year. A hearing on his revocation case is scheduled for July 14.
St. Louis County and federal court records show he was convicted of robbing two banks. The robberies occurred in August 2013 in St. Louis County and in Granite City.
In April 2015, he was given a federal prison sentence of 10 years and four months for the Granite City robbery in which he escaped with $3,400 from a Regions Bank. Along with the prison sentence, he was ordered to pay $3,400 in restitution and serve three years of probation.
A St. Louis County judge had given Habermehl a 10-year sentence for robbing a bank in Richmond Heights, Missouri. Habermehl got $2,897 in that robbery, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2015.
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 6:19 PM.
